


Pottertalia and the Broken Glass

by DyingInside_Always



Series: Pottertalia: The Series [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Magic, America and Canada are twins, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Friendship, Home, M/M, Multi, Not much romance for most of the story, Pottertalia, Self-Discovery, Strangers, They're both half-bloods who know nothing about magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22755742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DyingInside_Always/pseuds/DyingInside_Always
Summary: Confusion as to what was going on with them had run on for years now, since they started displaying signs of being different at around 7 years old. It had been 4 years already, and both of them felt deserving of answers...***Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry has held it's prestige for longer than any magic school before it. And it's new students are about to understand the chaos that comes along with attending...
Relationships: America & Canada (Hetalia), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: Pottertalia: The Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1636093
Kudos: 9





	Pottertalia and the Broken Glass

**Author's Note:**

> So, I intend to update this once or twice a month - I genuinely find both of these fandoms to be extremely nostalgic and I know that I'm going to have fun writing this. Please feel free to leave constructive criticism and or feedback in the comments! I'm also happy to answer (or hint at answers to) any questions you may have about the way I view the world!
> 
> Enjoy!  
> \- DyingInside_Always

In the more rural areas of Washington, there’s a small town; it’s home to about 7 houses, each made of wood and is the only town around for miles; fields and hilly ranges and gorgeous sky cast their ways for miles around. The population stays at a solid 32 for most of the year. The most iconic thing this town has to offer is Blacktop – a hill with a suspicious looking tree atop it which, as you may guess, sprouted black leaves. A majority of the towns-folk held no clue as to why, but didn’t ask questions. It wasn’t doing them any harm, so they left it to be. Besides, almost no one climbed Blacktop anyway.

Except for maybe those two…

The two boys that were currently sat atop the hill were about as curious as Blacktop itself – though no-one could begin to place exactly what was so wrong about them. Outside of their occasional unusual activities, the boys were about as normal as any two recently turned eleven-year olds could be. Yes, the twins were strange; most people did whatever they could to stay away from the Jones family household for that specific reason – but the boys mostly just sat atop the hill in Summer; taking in what they could of the generally warm summer weather Washington had to offer.

Breaking his eyes open to the mid-day June sun, one of them lazily lay on the grass atop Blacktop – his twin huddled closer to the strange tree, book in hand. This year had been the worst at school yet. He had successfully evaded 27 detentions in the last month, yes, but that didn’t stop the fact that even he couldn’t figure out why.

“Alfred?”

Registering his twin’s voice, he turned with a small smile. His brother, who still had his book open but was staring at him intently, allowed his furrow of worry to show on his face.

“Yeah?”

“Are you… Okay?” Alfred was always surprised at how soft Matthew’s voice really was. Had it not been for the slowing down of the usual Summer breeze, he may not have even picked up on it.

“Sure. Just… Thinking” He murmured, turning to look away form Matthew, finding his eyes catching on the brushing of the winds through the long grass, moving almost like waves across the land. His twin’s silence pushed him to continue to speak, “How did I do it?”

“What? The thing with the roof?” Matthew said, reading him like Alfred was the book in his lap. Alfred nodded. “I don’t know… I’ve been doing weird things too. You remember how Mom cut my hair to your length the day before school started?” Alfred nodded, rolling onto his stomach to look at his brother more closely as he spoke, “Well it just… Grew back. Like it had never been cut short in the first place. Mom… Didn’t seem surprised” He spoke quietly.

He was right, their mother had never seemed surprised at the weird and unnatural antics the boys got into. Maybe this was just part of growing up? Maybe this was all normal? Or…

“Maybe she knows something that we don’t” Alfred proposed, tilting his head as he spoke. The silence that permeated wasn’t uncomfortable; but it was certainly thick. Confusion as to what was going on with them had run on for years now, since they started displaying signs of being different at around 7 years old. It had been 4 years already, and both of them felt deserving of answers.

The gentle summer breeze ruffled the black leaves of the tree. Alfred looked up. Any other tree would be letting the leaves fall by now, the rocking of the breeze should be enough to break at least a single stem. Then again, Alfred didn’t expect anything like that would ever happen. It never did. The tree had always had the same leaves. It truly never changed.

“Sometimes I feel like this big ‘ol tree is the only thing that gets us Mattie” Alfred murmured. Matthew laughed in response, turning back to his book. He turned to the next page, allowing himself to bask in the silence. Alfred, in the meanwhile, flipped back onto his back – truly contemplating what he had said moments ago. Was their mother really hiding something from them?

It was as he began to differentiate the shapes of the different clouds that his mother began to shout for him.

“Sorry Matts… Gotta go” Alfred sighed. Matthew nodded in acknowledgement, eyes never leaving the page of his book. Walking calmly down the slope of the hill, he looked to his mother. She smiled in return, features tight and taught, as always, currently hanging laundry onto a wire that hung in their front yard – no need to fear for their clothes as this was no where near a suburb. Alfred, upon reaching the bottom of the hill, began to jog towards the house, his smile having softened.

“Everything OK mom?” he asked, his usual tone of happiness dampened in her presence, leaning on the front gate with both hands. He received a soft slap to the back of them for doing so.

“You’ll break it!” His mother warned; that flash of anger once again present in her eyes. “I’ve got a letter I need to be delivered; would you mind nipping down to the post office dear?”

“Ugh… Mom…” he groaned, complaint about to leave his lips that he had left the comfort of the hill for this? When he was suddenly tugged in the other direction – not physically, but a pull in his mind telling him that the post office an hour’s walk away was exactly where him and Matthew needed to be right now, “Yeah, fine”

“That’s my Alfie” She grinned, ruffling his hair, to his complaint. He hated how normal she wanted him to be around her. She knew he though she was foul. Attempting to reposition his hair to the point of comfort, he smiled when he took the letter from her, before heading back to the hill. He heard his mother make a noise of protest, before he stuck a finger up, bellowing at the top of his lungs up to the hill.

“MATTIE!”

Even at this distance, he saw his twin brother jump and stare down in utter bewilderment, before he began to signal for him to just get down the hill already. Alfred could practically feel Matthew’s complaints before he even arrived.

“We’re going to the Post Office.” Matthew opened his mouth as if to protest before he interrupted the thought, “Just trust me on this! It’s going to be fun!” An empty promise, yes, but the tug was nagging. Matthew rolled his eyes, passing his mother the book without a peep. She took it with a soft smile (one that Alfred had come to despise), before sticking his hands in his pockets to join his brother.

“Great!” Alfred called, beginning to walk down the road, waving to their mother as they left. The closest Post Office was in a town an hour’s walk away, not much bigger than their own, but which had the decency to actually stick a post office in their town. And a church… (Sundays were not fun…)

“Ok. Explain” Matthew said, looking to Alfred, who grinned again, teeth shining white – practically glinting in the mid-day sun.

“I got the tug Matthew, the one that pulls me out of detention, the one that grew your hair back! It’s telling me that this Post Office is where we need to be right now! I don’t know why, but we do!”

“I’m almost certain that whatever this is that we have – peculiar enough a disease as it is – it is not what is tugging you. It’s probably just gut instinct but, I’m not going to argue it any further than that” Matthew laughed quietly.

“Well, even if you are right, this is what’s happening. We need to be there, like, in exactly an hour”

“We will be there, in exactly an hour, we do this walk at least twice every week-“

“Yeah, yeah, I know, save your breath”

“Sorry”

“Don’t apologise” Alfred laughed, “You’ve got a bad habit of doing that all the time!”. The silence that lapsed after he said that confused Alfred enough to look over at his brother, who seemed to be having some kind of mild panic attack deciding what to say. His eyes were locked with the ground, his face screwed, eyebrows tight. It was enough to make Alfred burst out laughing. Matthew noticed, but didn’t join in, probably realising that he was the current brunt of the joke.

“Ha ha,” he said sarcastically, a smile on his face nonetheless “so we go to the Post Office and deliver the letter? Then what?”

“Then! My dearest brother of mine” Alfred said, sarcasm dripping in return, “we wait for… Magic to happen” He suggested, casually.

“Magic?” Matthew laughed.

“Magic” Alfred confirmed, continuing to skip down the road, almost completely dead, other than the chirping of birds in trees around the road. The sky was visible through the two rows of trees and, during the walk down the road, the two spotted shapes in the clouds, each one getting dazzlingly more creative than the next.

“I mean that’s obviously a person riding on a hippogriff” Matthew said confidently, around 50 minutes into the walk, pointing at a cloud directly above them.

“What’s a hippogriff?” Alfred asked.

“Mythical creature” Matthew shrugged, “It’s what I was reading about before we came down here… They’re kinda like horses but with an eagle’s head… And wings?” He speech became quieter as he continued – always embarrassed to be the centre of attention or the only one speaking.

“Huh… Neat” He smiled, looking up to the cloud again, “Yeah, I can see that! Totally. I think we’re agreed on this one!” Matthew laughed in response, before pointing wordlessly ahead. Alfred followed his finger to find that they were indeed coming up on the town, which was now, thankfully, in view. A grin unfolded onto his face and the two set into a jog for the last of the distance. The stone buildings that lined the road practically taunted the two as they made it down to the centre. It wasn’t busy – in comparison to their little village, maybe, but it definitely wasn’t busy. Wandering quickly down towards the post office, Alfred felt his excitement growing.

Matthew did not share the sentiment.

“Man, my knees hurt. Why do we do this to ourselves?” He sighed, matching Alfred’s pace exactly as his twin brother pushed the door of the Post Office in, that small ting of the bell shutting him up.

“Afternoon’ boys! Mom got a letter she needs postin’?” The friendly man behind the desk grinned. He was a decent enough man, but Alfred always had the feeling he wanted more than a friendly chat with their mother, which was…

“Yes please, just this letter thanks” Matthew said politely, pulling the letter from Alfred’s hand and handing it across. Alfred glanced down at his hand, then to his brother, then back to the Post Office man.

“Fab, that’ll be a dollar fifteen”

“Wait – why the price rise?” Alfred asked, pulling the correct amount of money out of his pocket anyway.

“Seems this one’s due across seas, costs a bit more to get it that far” The man chuckled. Across seas? God, why hadn’t he checked the envelope? Alfred practically cursed himself internally, passing the money to the man with a nod. Thanked him quietly, and made to make their way to the door.

The thump against the window startled all three of them. A quick flash of brown was all any of them caught before all three were out looking at the bird on the ground.

“It’s… An owl?” Matthew said out loud, arms hugging around himself tightly as he approached, fingers pressing white marks into his already unnaturally pale skin. Almost directly after he said it, it sprung to life, tossing itself over before tapping it’s claws on a pair of… letters.

Alfred looked at Matthew.

Matthew looked at Alfred.

“NOT IT!” Each boy shouted, Matthew ever so slightly slower than Alfred, and groaning as he moved slowly towards the owl. Bending down, he picked up the letters. When the bird did nothing, he relaxed slightly, allowing a smile and gently brushing his hand against it’s head. It made a small warbling noise before stepping back from his hand. Spreading it’s wings, it took off.

“What off behaviour…” The Post Office clerk commented, rubbing his hand on his chin. “Not natural for owls to be flying around this time of the day – something probably off with that one, you’ll need to wash your hands there, young Williams.”

Alfred turned to look at his brother once again, to find his brother staring in disbelief at the letters. He nodded, absently, to the Post Office man, before wandering away. Alfred did not fail to notice the small tremor in his hands.

“Uh… Th-thanks sir, I’ll make sure he does!” He found it unnatural to be stammering; usually his twin brother had that covered, but Matthew was acting really strangely and now he was determined to find out what was up with him.

“Yo, Mattie, What-?” Matthew silently handed Alfred one of the envelopes. Looking down, confused, he read:

_Alfred Franklin Williams-Jones  
3 Windsor Street  
Cosby-Way  
Washington 98800  
United States of America_

Pulling to a full halt, he looked up at his brother, who held up his matching letter. Turning it over in his hands, he caught sight of the wax seal that held the letters’ envelope together. Alfred gestured his head to the side, Matthew nodding, as the two silently agreed to sit down and discuss this.

“Ok, first weird thing – Owl delivery” Matthew started  
“Second weird thing – Our exact names and addresses are written on these envelopes”  
“Third weird thing – Delivery doesn’t turn up at our door, it comes to us”  
“Fourth weird thing – what is this seal?”  
“No doubt about it, this is way too weird not to be real” Matthew said, a small amount of confidence tracing his voice. Silence graced the both of them as they stared down the letters, as if they would explode at any moment.

“I’m opening it” Alfred stated. Matthew nodded his agreement and the two opened the letters. Getting his open, he allowed his eyes to barely grace the crest at the top of the page before he began to read aloud. “ _Dear Mr. Williams-Jones, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…”_ His voice trailed off, allowing himself and his brother to read the letters more privately.

_Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on 1 st September. We await your owl by no later than 31st July. _

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Professor Athena Karpusi  
Deputy Headmaster_

Confusion wasn’t even the beginning of it. Before either of them even looked at the next page, they looked at each other.

“Ironic” Matthew commented to break the silence, “how you said all we had to do is wait for magic… And that’s exactly what found us apparently”

“No but, like, don’t you see? This is why we can do the things we do Matthew! All those weird things that keep happening to us!” Alfred said excitedly, “It’s because of this! We’re… Wizards? I guess? I don’t know, but isn’t it exciting!”

“You could say that” Matthew said calmly, turning to the other piece of paper that was included, rattling of the list of necessary items, “ _Three sets of plain work robes, a plain pointed har for day wear? One pair of protective gloves,_ apparently, they’ve got to be dragon hide or similar. _One winter cloak,_ specifically has to be _black with silver fastenings”_

“Oh but these book sound way more interesting than the garbage they get us reading in school!

“Our books aren’t garbage!”

“Shh! _Standard book of spells, History of Magic, Magical Theory, A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration?_ What the hell is transfiguration anyways?! _One thousand magical herbs and fungi, magical drafts and –_ Woah, wait, potions?! No Mattie this is so up your alley! _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander!”_

“Last one sounds like your kind of subject”

“No kidding!” Alfred said, a grin on his face that could light up a room, “ _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_! Finally, I’d get to actually be the hero!” He laughed.

“ _1 wand, 1 cauldron, 1 set of glass or crystal phials, 1 telescope, 1 set of brass scales… Students may also bring if they desire, an owl, or a cat, or a toad_ ”

“Why would you pick a toad?”

“I don’t know, some people are quirky for the sake of being quirky Al… _Parents are reminded that first years are not allowed their own broomstick?_ Why would we bring a broomstick?”

“Dunno, maybe Wizards that like, know they’re wizards are super obsessed with cleaning? This whole thing is beyond me, Mattie” Alfred laughed, flicking through the pieces of paper one more time.

“I think we need to talk to Mom about this…” Matthew said quietly, running his hands along the parchment. Looking at his twin, Alfred saw a strange mix of confusion, apprehension, excitement and worry. Alfred nodded, standing up, not even looking at the road. He didn’t have to, there was still no one there. Looking back down at the letter, he quickly folded he letter back into its three folded sections, before shoving it haphazardly into its envelope. Watching Matthew carefully shut his neatly before standing up, he gave Alfred a smile that screamed his nervousness.

“Its gonna be okay Mattie! Surely Mom wouldn’t be upset about something like this!” Alfred said, in an attempt to console his now worried brother.

“That’s not really what’s bothering me about it…” He murmured in response. When Alfred didn’t reply, he began his tirade, “It’s just- We’ve been talking about the weird stuff that happens around us to Mom for years! She’s known that weird stuff happens to us since we were seven, there’s literally no denying that so why-?” He took a moment to pause, staring down at the letter as the two walked down the road, “Why wouldn’t she just tell us if she knew? If she knew that there was something weird about us, why weren’t we told? Surely she could have just explained to us that we come from a family of magic?”

“I don’t know, but Mom’s always got her reasons for these things, doesn’t she? It’s gonna be okay, I’m sure!”

“It’s just too weird. It’s come out of nowhere, and all at once, and I can’t help but feel worried about it…” Alfred turned to look at his brother. Those long locks their mother always complained about were practically falling in his eyes, only the thin barrier of his glasses to keep the stray hairs out. Outside of that, the two were practically identical in everything but temperament. Matthew, noticing his brothers abnormal silence, glanced up. “What?”

“Just wondering why you’re so worried about it… We’ve found out now, haven’t we? It’s gonna be all good, and if Mom tries to deny it, we can just, you know, tell her to get stuffed!”

“You would never!” Matthew laughed, a look of shock gracing his features

“Oh yes I would!”

The more casual banter returned for the boys walk home. Upon arriving in their village, the boys could immediately sense that something was off. Their mother wasn’t stood outside, but nor was anyone else. Even catching someone doing washing around this time of day would be more normal that a lack of anyone’s presence. Alfred signalled to his brother to follow him quickly. Even with the anger he often felt towards his mother, he had enough reason to worry for her safety. Jogging back to the house, pushing onwards as quickly as they could, they pushed through the front door.

“MOM?!” He called, a tone of almost anger strong and present in his voice. Matthew’s echo of this shout was much more fearful.

“I’m through here darlings!” She called; her voice had a slight waver to it. The call was obviously coming from their living area. Sharing a glance with his twin, Alfred cautiously approached, pushing the door in.

Sat beside their mother on their old, worn couch was the strangest man Alfred had ever laid his eyes upon. Easily around a head taller than their mother, and with a grin that shone like the sun, it was physically impossible to miss him. But the most striking thing was what he chose to wear – striking red robes, that glistened in golden pattens from the afternoon sun with every movement. With the widest smile the boys had ever seen, he spoke.

“Hello boys!” His voice was as cheery as his demeanour, with this booming power underlying the soft words, “You must be Alfred and Matthew”.

“Mom, what’s going on?” Alfred chose to dodge the man on the sofa, standing beside his mother instead, while Matthew remained stock still in the doorway, “Who are you?”

“Yes” The man laughed, “I was just explaining to your mother that there was… uh… A bit of a mix-up? You see, well, it’s going to sound so insensitive – we were under the impression that your father was still alive!” Alfred physically winced at the words. Him and Matthew didn’t know much of anything about their dad – he had died when they were very young in what their mother could only ever describe as ‘some freak accident’. What had truly happened to him was beyond him, and this man bringing it up so casually stirred anger in his stomach. “And, well. Your father was a wizard, Alfred… Much like you and your brother-”

“But I keep telling you” Their mother interrupted, her hands curling in frustration, “My boys aren’t… They aren’t freaks, nor was their father! They’re perfectly normal and healthy boys, there’s nothing weird about them!” pulling the letter out of his pocket, Alfred handed it across, brow still firmly furrowed on his face.

“Is… Is this- what this is about?” He asked, allowing the man to look at the envelope. He seemed surprisingly unfazed by this whole encounter.

“This is exactly what this is about Alfred” The man smiled, “As with tradition, those who are raised among wizarding families will be able to respond with acceptance easily but… Well you can see where things went wrong?” He laughed, almost nervously.

“Because you thought dad was alive…” All three heads whipped towards Matthew in the doorway, now growing a little braver towards the man on the couch and stepping into the room, “You thought we would know about magic. But we don’t. We don’t know what’s going on”

“Matthew” Their mother spoke again, “There is nothing going on! This man has no idea what he’s talking about!” Alfred found himself growing angry at this statement. Was… Was their mother denying what was going on? Was she really doing that? Was she just going to give up on what had been granted to them?

“Sorry…” Matthew murmured.

“Who are you?” Alfred cut through, before his brother could continue to doubt himself, “Why should I trust you?”

“A very good question” He smiled, “My name is Romulus Vargas, and I’m a Professor at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry” He handed the letter back, having not opened it and simply examined the envelope to ensure its genuineness, “I’ll be teaching you Transfiguration this year!”

“You won’t be teaching them anything!” Their mother hissed.

“Mom” Alfred spoke clearly. When she turned to him, she was teary eyed, “I trust this guy… I know it seems weird but there’s something going on with me and Matthew. We need answers Mom, we need to know what we are”

“You’re not strange Alfred, you’re not like this man!” She whispered, almost accusingly.

“I know I’m not strange… That’s why I’m going with him” Alfred returned. When his mother desperately tried to grab him and keep him in place, he approached the Professor. “Mattie? You coming?”

His brother looked wary, almost afraid of what was about to happen. But Alfred knew his brother. He was just like him, there was no way he was passing this up. He was happy to see his thoughts were practically confirmed when his brother approached and gripped Alfred’s hand. “Okay… Let’s go”

“We’ll be in touch Mom” Alfred spoke with confidence, “But you can’t stop us from finding out what we need to know” He didn’t make eye contact. He noticed his brother look over, eyes overflowing with tears as he accepted what had to be done. After the Professor gave a short explanation of a bunch of spells which would summon their clothes to them, he pulled a satchel out of his pocket. Their mother, filled with rage, simply sat and shook – eyes streaming with tears.

“Something tells me were not coming back Alfie” Matthew spoke quietly. Alfred glanced over, the noticeable fear in the other boy’s actions making him squeeze his hand tighter.

“I know” Alfred said. He felt disgusting that no feeling of guilt arose at that thought. Abandoning their mother was simply an after thought as to what they were doing. But he knew this was how he was going to feel at the end of the day. He knew her too well – and his brother was far too naïve on this front.

“I’m going to ask each of you to step into your fireplace” Romulus smiled, “and you’re each going to take a handful of this powder” He showed off the bag the boys who glanced in. A grey settled powder sat in the bag, “When you do, say with confidence for me – 24 Charing Cross Road, London. Then throw the powder down. Understand?” He said with a smile. The boys nodded, and Alfred gestured for Matthew to go first. With an essence of nervousness, his brother stepped into the fireplace. Alfred watched him attempt to make eye contact with their mother and fail. Grasping a handful of the powder, he held his head high and gritted his teeth.

“24 Charing Cross Road, London” He called, throwing the powder to the ground and, in a flash of bright green fire… He was gone.

“Wh- wh-“ Alfred stammered, blinking rapidly, “What did you do to my brother?!”

“Relax!” Romulus laughed, as he gestured for Alfred to step in, “He’s just been moved by the floo network!”

“Floo network?” Alfred asked, confused and afraid.

“More on that later” He received as a reply. Copying his brother exactly, as he felt the powder hit his feet, there was a sudden rushing feeling before he was being thrown out somewhere else. Coughing and hacking up whatever dust had settled into his lungs, he glanced up to see his brother offering his hand, a soft smile now settled on his face. Stepping out of the fireplace, there was no need to question the validity of this anymore. The room was decorated with candles that provided the light. Comfortable looking sofas surrounded the fireplace, and a large window to their right showed off the bustling, rainy street of…

“London” Matthew broke the silence. Alfred merely nodded in reply as he approached the window. Most noticeably, atop the window-sill was a single photo. Romulus was present, along with four other figures he couldn’t possibly recognise. A woman and a man, both brunettes – the man had a young boy in his lap, that couldn’t be much older that 1 or 2. In the woman’s arms? A baby. The photo was moving, strangely enough, and the two boys looked in fascination as the group laughed, the young boy almost uncertain of how to react.

The fireplace went off with a gust of heat, and the two turned around to see Romulus with two small suitcases, which were obviously now theirs. That smile never seemed to wipe off his face but, Alfred supposed, he must be much older than he was letting on.

“There are spare rooms upstairs” He said with a smile, “I understand that there is a lot I will need to explain to you, but, for now, I think you’ll need some rest”. The two boys nodded, almost in unison, as they were directed up the stairs. Wandering up the flight to the spare rooms, Alfred wandered into the first one he came across, allowing his brother to take the door which was much brighter and homely – covered in photos and drawings that he saw his brother smile at before entering. Scared for the first time since discovering that there truly was something going on with him and his brother, he pushed open the door to the room. It was quiet, and dusty. A few moving photos lay upon the walls. Nothing that really seemed of interest to Alfred. But one did catch his eye. Upon sitting on the bed, he found himself looking at the picture on the bedside table. In the image were three boys and a girl, each wearing identical black robes with green insides. They were all grinning and laughing with one another, though the group couldn’t have appeared more different. One of the boys in the middle really caught Alfred’s eye. This must be Romulus… Or at the very least, someone who looked very similar to him. He wasn’t smiling, almost arguing with one of the boys laughing in the image.

Looking up at the ceiling of a room that wasn’t his own, Alfred sighed. He made an assurance to himself that he would ask Romulus about the boy in the image – even though he wasn’t certain if it was a promise he was likely to keep.

**Author's Note:**

> Check me out on tumblr! I'd love to hear from you! dyinginside-always.tumblr.com


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